The rodent subfamily Sigmodontinae includes New World rats and mice, with at least 376 species. Many authorities include the Neotominae and Tylomyinae as part of a larger definition of Sigmodontinae. When those genera are included, the species count numbers at least 508. Their distribution includes much of the New World, but the genera are predominantly South American, such as brucies. They invaded South America from Central America as part of the Great American Interchange near the end of the Miocene, about 5 million years ago. Sigmodontines proceeded to diversify explosively in the formerly isolated continent. They inhabit many of the same ecological niches that the Murinae occupy in the Old World.
The Cerrado is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Paraná and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are the Brazilian highlands – the Planalto. The main habitat types of the Cerrado consist of forest savanna, wooded savanna, park savanna and gramineous-woody savanna. The Cerrado also includes savanna wetlands and gallery forests.
The agile gracile opossum, is an opossum species from South America. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The Brazilian gracile opossum is a species of small opossum from Brazil.
The dwarf fat-tailed mouse opossum, also known as the velvety fat-tailed opossum is an opossum species from South America. It is endemic to Brazil, where it is found in cerrado and caatinga habitats. Its head-and-body length is about 141-212 mm, and its tail length is about 73-85 mm. Its diet is 44% arthropods; 75% of its diet consists of animals and animal products. Its ventral fur is entirely gray-based. Its hind foot is less than 14 mm, which is short for the genus.
The Serra do Mar grass mouse or Cerrado grass mouse is a rodent species from South America. It is found in Brazil.
The Tocantins vesper mouse is a South American rodent species of the family Cricetidae. It is found in Brazil. Its karyotype has 2n = 46 and FNa = 66.
The cerrado mouse is a rodent species from South America. It is found in the cerrado of Brazil.
The hairy-eared cerrado mouse or hairy-eared akodont, is a rodent species from South America. It is found in the cerrado grassland of Brazil.
Rhipidomys is a genus of rodents in the family Cricetidae, The following 25 species of climbing mouse species are currently recognised:
Wiedomys is a genus of South American rodents in the family Cricetidae.
Nectomys rattus, the small-footed bristly mouse, Amazonian nectomys, Amazonian mouse, or common water rat is a species of rodent in the genus Nectomys of family Cricetidae. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela, where it lives in a variety of habitats including lowland tropical rainforest, cerrado and caatinga. It is mainly found in areas close to water. It was recognized as distinct only in 2000 and its limits with other Nectomys, including Nectomys apicalis and Nectomys squamipes, remain unclear.
Cerradomys is a genus of oryzomyine rodents from eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and central Brazil found in cerrado, Caatinga and Gran Chaco habitats.
Karimi's fat-tailed mouse opossum is a species of opossum in the family Didelphidae. It is endemic to central and northeast Brazil, where it is found in the cerrado and caatinga at elevations from 300 to 1100 m. This opossum is crepuscular and mostly terrestrial; its omnivorous diet includes leaves, insects and small vertebrates. Its head-and-body length is about 95 millimeters, and its tail length is about 72 millimeters. It is very similar to T. pallidor. Its tail may be nonprehensile. The species is named after Iranian epidemiologist Y. Karimi. It is threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation due to agriculture and ranching.
The Paraguayan bolo mouse or Paraguayan akodont is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. According to the IUCN, it is present in Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru, and possibly also in Argentina and Brazil. It is found at elevations from 300 to 2,030 m in a variety of habitats, including cerrado, chaco, and heath pampas.
The cerrado climbing mouse or long-tailed rhipidomys is an arboreal rodent species in the family Cricetidae from South America. It is found in primary or secondary forests of the cerrado and caatinga in central and eastern Brazil, and has also been seen in the Atlantic Forest. Its karyotype is 2n = 44, FN = 48-52. They are nocturnal animals and can be found in both tree canopies and on the ground.
The cerrado red-nosed mouse is a rodent species from South America. It is known from one locality in Bahia, eastern Brazil. The species was found in semi-deciduous forest in the cerrado ecoregion.
The eastern Amazon climbing mouse is a rodent species from South America. It is endemic to central Brazil, where it is found in the eastern fringe of the Amazon rainforest, as well as in gallery forest and tropical dry forest within the cerrado ecoregion. It is often found in areas under cultivation.
